Emily Talen is a professor at Arizona State University (ASU), where she has two affiliations: the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the School of Sustainability. She holds a PhD in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a masterâs degree in city and regional planning from Ohio State University. Prior to joining ASU, she was a professor in the department of urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana for eight years.